Executives from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) have revealed recently that the supply of the new iPad will remain limited for the present quarter. According to Peter Oppenheimer, chief financial officer of Apple, sales of the new iPad has continued to remain high as the company continues to try to meet the demand. The net income of Apple reportedly reached $11.6 billion for the first quarter of the year, which is 93 percent higher compared to the previous year.
Total sales for the quarter of the tablet offering of Apple reached 11.8 million units, which includes the new iPad of Apple. On the other hand iPhone sales reached 35 million while Mac sales reached 4 million. Total iPod sales were at 7.7 million units.
Although the company did not reveal the total sales for the new iPad, Tim Cook revealed that the supply of the tablet will remain limited during the current quarter. But Cook also indicated that the reduction of the iPad 2 price tag resulted to demand in the education sector along with price-conscious consumers. The San Diego school district has indicated its commitment on providing iPad units to elementary school children throughout the district.
Cook also compared the merging of the MacBook with the iPad would be similar to combining a toaster with a refrigerator, which hints at the convertible devices offered by its competitors including Asus (TPE:2357).
However Oppenheimer also indicated that the limitations in the new iPad supply will go down in the next quarter following its notable first quarter sales. The notable sales for the quarter may be due to the higher iPhone channel inventory, solid sales of the iPad, reduction in the price of the iPad 2 and the strengthening of the US dollar.
Sales in the Chinese market reached $7.9 billion, which is a three-fold increase from last year. The demand for the iPhone 4S in China have contributed to the impressive sales of Apple. This comes as the new iPad has yet to be released in mainland China. However the new iPad is already available in Hong Kong.
Aside from revealing that the new iPad inventory remains limited for the quarter, Apple also indicated that the Mac OS X 10.8 will be delivered sometime in the summer.
